The Schizophrenic's Daughter IV
by T Stark
Summary: Three years after returning to her normal life, Breanna Rattmann discovers that her past still exists, and it could have fatal consequences. Now she and Doug must make a sacrifice to keep her alive as her fate is decided at last.
1. Chapter 1: Revelation

**I swear, this will be the last one this time! Also, remember that this takes place AFTER _Keepsake_. Otherwise, you may be a tad confused.**

* * *

"Jonathan Rash."

_This is it._

"Damian Raswell."

_I've been waiting for this moment for fifty-one years._

"Katherine Ratses"

_And now, all I have to wait for is them to call_

"Breanna Rattmann."

Time seemed to move in slow motion as she approached the podium, her red gown a few inches above the ground. The applause was deafening, though she was aware that only a select few were actually clapping for her. She shot a small smile at the two men in the front row, both of them beaming back in pride. Especially the one whose mismatched eyes were the same shade of sky blue as hers.

Breanna carefully took the diploma she'd worked so hard to earn, then the principal proceeded to shake her trembling hand- the one that didn't have the scar. He whispered a small congratulations to her, and she went to take her seat, smiling at the boy in the black cap and gown she'd met all those years ago. West returned the grin with one of his own.

Before she knew it, it was done. But, what was done, really? High school? The graduation ceremony? Or was it something much bigger? Something she had yet to determine?

She hadn't noticed her hand was on the back of her neck, feeling the skin which had been unwillingly tinted with tattoo ink. She didn't hesitate to move it away.

"Calm down, Doug, she has to be here somewhere." Cave put his hand on the shoulder of his nephew. "I get why you're protective of her, but she's a smart girl. She can find her way to us at a school event."

Doug smiled just a bit. "I know. But still..."

"Daddy! Uncle Johnson!" Both men turned their heads to see the girl with the obsidian hair hurrying toward them, a smile on her face that could be described only as radiant.

They embraced her simultaneously as her father spoke. "For forty years, I thought I would never get to see this day." His voice was quiet, as to keep any outsiders from hearing. "But now that I am, I sort of wish otherwise. My little girl is growing up." He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Now the next step is college, right? Your dad tells me you've got some good scholarships." Cave added. She confirmed the fact. "And after that, maybe you'll consider-"

"No!" Breanna's outburst was sudden, frightened, and slightly louder than she'd anticipated. "I'm sorry, Uncle Johnson," She continued, softer. "But I'm never going back to Aperture. Never."

Doug squeezed her hand just a little tighter. "I understand." Cave put his hand on her arm. "I shouldn't have brought it up. Sorry." Cave had never forgiven himself for putting such a young girl into such a life altering position. Not fully. But he had to keep reminding himself that, if not for his actions, the girl in front of him would be long dead, a direct result of an accident involving repulsion gel. Chest pains, deterioration of intellectual abilities and motor skills, and eventually heart failure. That was what he had saved her from. He had to remember that.

Breanna smiled. "It's fine, really. Just so long as I never have to see another AI again." Doug, though he didn't say it out loud, felt the exact same way.

He didn't want to stay on the subject any longer. "The valedictorian's speech was nice. You could have done better, though."

She blushed at her father's comment. "I doubt it. There's a reason she beat me. My second semester grades weren't particularly my best." It was true. Many of her classes had dropped to B's. "Where's Leena?"

"She should be here soon." He replied, looking around for his wife of three years. He was unaware of the strange sensation that his daughter was experiencing. She was good at hiding it after seven years of having to do so.

"I should get going." Cave hugged Breanna once more. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you. Caroline sends her regards."

For whatever reason, Doug highly doubted that.

So a week later, Breanna sat in her room. Something was wrong. She looked at her hand, which was trembling. _This hasn't happened since..._ She shook her head. She was imagining it, was all. It was nothing she should be concerned about.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small vibration in her pocket. She took out her modest flip phone and checked her text messages.

West: hey whats up

She sighed a bit before responding.

Breanna: Don't think I don't know what this is about.

West: ?

Breanna: I know Gabby Watson's having a party for all the graduates. I'm not going.

West: Y not?

Breanna: 1: Use full words. This text speak is annoying. 2: Because you want it to be a date. I told you, that kiss three years ago was a thank you. That's it. 3: Why doesn't anyone ever seem to call people anymore?

She waited a solid twenty minutes before deciding he wasn't going to answer. West was always quick with replying. Three minutes was the longest it ever took him.

She set the phone down. West had feelings for her, that was obvious. But what did she feel for him? It was nothing, right? They were just friends. But sometimes, she wasn't sure if maybe she secretly wanted it to be more than that. He'd saved her life, after all.

But it would never work. She knew that, and she'd tried to explain the fact to him many times. He was eighteen. She, on the other hand, had been alive- technically speaking- for fifty one years. She'd had to explain her story to him after his father had brought it up when he kidnapped her. And yet he still was hopelessly in love with her.

_That's why I'm shaking. I'm nervous. About West, college, Dad. It has nothing to do with anything else. After all, I'm not-_ Her hands flew to her chest as a stab of pain flooded it. Her eyes wide, she sat there for a good five and a half minutes before it subsided.

She didn't waste any time picking up her cell phone and dialing a number. She stated her request to the secretary, every second filling her with more dread. After what seemed like far too long, someone answered. "Cave Johnson here."

"Uncle Johnson..." Her voice was soft, as she tried to hide her fear.

"Breanna? What's wrong?"

She took a shaking breath, her eyes closed, and spoke the words she'd never wanted to speak. "...It's happening again."


	2. Chapter 2: The Decision

"Come in." Cave responded to the light knock at the door, anxious. Breanna entered silently, her black hair falling to the middle of her back, a look of fearful recognition in her bright blue eyes. "I never wanted to have this conversation again. Never thought I'd have to. Is it really happening? Are you really...?"

Breanna nodded somberly. "From the accident. It's been three years since I got my body back. Why is it only showing up now?" Her thumb ran over the scar on her hand.

Cave shook his head. "It must've only been a temporary fix. Caroline said they improved the stasis pods just before I was put in, which is why I'm not dead by now. Yours, though..." He looked up sadly at her.

This was his fault. He'd been the one in charge when the accident had happened. The one who had ignored Doug's warnings about letting Michael Anderson watch the child who was still so vulnerable to all of life's dangers. The one who hadn't requested tests on any of the negative effects repulsion gel could have on a human being. He'd been the one to cause all of this.

She bit her lip slightly in worry. But she didn't cry. She refused to cry. She couldn't show weakness. She'd been through too much for that. Far too much. "So this is it, then."

"Not necessarily." Her eyes moved up to his face again. "There is one thing we could do." When she asked what it was, his face remained in the same pitying expression. "You know what it is."

All the colour left her face at once. "No. I- I won't do it. Not again."

Cave leaned forward on his desk so his face was only about a foot away from hers. "Would you rather die?" Their eyes locked onto one another, it felt as if the world around them had stopped.

"No, I just..." Her eyes squeezed shut as each let a tear escape. "I don't want to forget again!"

He took her hand. "We'll talk to Caroline about it. Maybe she has something that will keep that from happening. Sound good?"

As she thought it over, Breanna was silent until she made a decision. "My father can't know."

"No!" Cave almost shouted. "No, Breanna, listen to me. You don't understand. When you first powered on, you don't remember it well since it wasn't technically you yet. You didn't see it. When he found your body, when he first saw what you'd become, I swear, I saw him die a little that day. I never want to see him like that again. If we're going to do this, we have to tell him. Otherwise, there's no telling what might happen."

She hadn't even thought of that. All these years, and she hadn't thought of that. If he'd reacted as badly as her uncle said, how would he take it now that he'd been through so much trauma? "You're right." That was all she could say.

Cave nodded. "Let's go, then."

She was frightened. The last thing she wanted was to see the massive AI looming over her again. She wanted more than anything to run away, but she knew doing so would do nothing but cause more unbearable pain in her chest. So she stood at the chamber doors beside her great uncle, fearing the worst.

When the doors opened, her attention was caught first by the woman sitting in the corner, wires coming out of her back. The name came instantly to her mind. _Caroline... _Of course, after a moment's observation, she knew it was an android. The woman she'd known was long dead.

"Well, would you look at this." The chassis turned to face them. If she could, GLaDOS would have been giving her a menacing grin. "If it isn't the Ratling. It's always such a pleasure. Of course, it certainly has been a long time. Come to cause more disturbances?"

"Caroline, please." Cave put a hand on GLaDOS' faceplate. "We need your help."

"With what?" The mechanical voice was quieter now, more compassionate. For a moment, Breanna could have sworn she'd heard her uncle's assistant.

Cave explained that the results of the repulsion gel accident were quickly reappearing, and that Breanna had only a few more months, which was news even to her. Then he stated their plan. "You need to build an AI we can upload her consciousness into while we find a way to heal her body."

"Is that so?" The golden optic turned to the girl. "I always had such high hopes for you. Pretty, open minded, incredibly intelligent; It's a shame all of it will be going to waste." Her voice turned cold. "I want you to think back. I want you to think back to every time your father tried to kill me, and when he finally found someone who could. Think of all the trouble he's put me though. I want you to think about that and give me one good reason why I should do anything that might make his short, sad life any less pathetic and meaningless than it already is."

So that was it. She'd cheated death once already. Now it was time to make up for it. She looked at the scar on her hand, recalling the pain of the knife as it penetrated her flesh. It was no match for the agony she felt as she imagined her father's face when he would find her one morning, having died in her sleep.

"Please," Said Cave when he saw the hopeless expression on the girl's face. "I'm begging you, Caroline. Just please do it. For me."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"_No_."

"Please?"

"My answer is no." GLaDOS snapped. "I will _not_, nor will I ever even _consider_ doing anything that requires me to see Douglas Rattmann for the rest of my life. Which, as you both know, is a very long time."

"...Please?"


	3. Chapter 3: Proposition

Doug answered the door the very next day. "Uncle Johnson, what are you doing here?" He smiled, but it soon fell when he saw the look of seriousness on his face.

Cave looked him dead in the eye. "We need to talk." The men sat in the living room, and Doug felt something inside him begin to panic."Breanna came to talk to me yesterday."

"Sh- she went back there?" Doug was in shock. Had she not just said she never wanted to step foot in Aperture ever again?

Cave nodded. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna say it. We... We need to put Breanna back in the prototype."

"What?" Doug flew to his feet. "No! You can't! I- I won't let you!"

"Doug, listen to me-"

"No, I- I'm not going to lose her again! You can't take her away from me!" Doug leaned his back against the wall, hands clutching his hair, his breaths short and uneven.

Cave put his hands on Doug's shoulders and shook him a little. "Doug! This is our only option if we want to keep her alive!"

Doug lowered his hands from his head, but his eyes still reflected his terror. "Wh- what do you mean?"

"I'm dying, Daddy." Breanna had slipped into the room without anyone noticing. "It's just like the last time. Only faster. Please, Daddy, you have to understand. _I'm _okay with dying, but I don't want to leave you." Her face was wet with tears, her dripping mascara darkening the circles beneath her eyes even more.

_It will never work..._

_She just wants to get away from you..._

Doug did everything he could silence the taunting. "Breanna..." He took a few steps toward her. A few more. Finally, he embraced her. "Breanna, _min kärlek_..." They stood there for a long time, both trembling, though for different reasons. "_She_ won't allow it. She loves to see people die, there will be no exception here."

"Not to worry." Stated Cave, proudly. "Caroline already approved it."

"Who approved what?" West's voice came from behind them. "Am I interrupting something?" He asked innocently enough.

Breanna turned toward him. "A little." She asked her father and uncle to excuse her for a moment while she and West spoke in the other room. "We have to make this quick."

His response wasn't what she'd anticipated. When his lips connected with hers, it took a moment or two to realize what exactly was happening. When she did come to her senses, she pushed him away rather roughly. "I... I'm sorry." She could tell his words were sincere.

"West Anderson, how many times do I have to say it?" Perhaps her frustration was uncalled for, but she was going through a lot. She had an excuse. "This idea of 'us' you have is never going to work! No matter what you do, no matter how much we want it-"

She stopped when she caught her mistake. "You said 'we'." West pointed out. "'No matter how much _we_ want it'."

There was a long silence. She was caught. "Well, you got what you wanted. To an extent, at least."

"Breanna..." He looked into her shockingly blue eyes, seeing a secret he could not quite make out. "You've been through a lot. And I want to help."

"Oh?" She asked. "And how do you plan to do that?"

Carefully, he took her hand. "You're shaking." He observed. "We're legal adults now. We can run away. Go somewhere far away. What do you think?"

She looked at his face, that face that somehow she trusted, then to her hand, caressed in his. "It's what I've always dreamed of... To go somewhere no one knows who I am... With you..."

"Then what are we waiting for?" His expression was unforgettable. "We'll leave tonight. We don't have to tell anyone. It'll be us against the world. Leave this place behind, no looking back." He smiled kindly at her. "And I'll keep you safe. I'll keep you safe for the rest of our lives."

Was he serious? He couldn't be. No, he was. He was more serious than he ever had been before. Breanna slowly withdrew her hand. "I... I can't... I wouldn't survive more than four months. And my father... Please, try to understand."

It appeared as if his whole reason to live had been shattered. "I don't. I don't understand."

"Maybe you should go." She whispered.

He walked away a few steps, but turned once more. "Breanna..."

"Goodbye, West."

"Doug, calm down." Cave was just short of having to hold him up the following day, when they returned to the place Doug's nightmares had become reality.

Breanna took his hand, doing everything she could to help. "Daddy, it's okay. Just try to relax."

It was easier said than done. Everything that had happened here, all the memories, all the death, it was too much for him to handle. It was times like this that made him feel like he really _was _crazy. "D- don't make me go in there." He pleaded when they finally arrived at the oh-so-familiar chamber doors.

"You have to." Cave told him. "Caroline asked for you specifically."

"N- not Caroline. Not her. G- GLaDOS. She wants to kill me. She will this time, I know she will!" Cave and Breanna struggled to keep him from bolting in the other direction.

"Oh, stop your whining and come in." The voice from the speaker was annoyed, almost bored. "I'm getting _really_ sick of you. Every time I think you're finally gone for good, you manage to find some reason to come back." The broken man watched the doors open, his eyes locked on the chassis he'd helped design as he was led inside. "How have you been, Rat?"

All he could do was stare as images of the past flashed before his eyes. His co workers dying one by one, the robotic body that housed his daughter's soul being crushed before his very eyes, and so many more.

The yellow optic seemingly seeing completely into his thoughts, the computerized voice which had threatened him so many times before. "I- I- I-" _I can't take this... It's too much... I need... I need..._ Before he could even finish his thought, his legs gave out from under him as he was overtaken by unconsciousness.

When his eyes fluttered open, he looked around the den by habit, searching for anything suspicious. He scratched his beard as he sat up, and was reaching for his paint brushes when he froze suddenly. _Wait. The den, the beard, the brushes..._ He stood quickly and looked down at himself. Sure enough, he was dressed in an old, white button-down shirt and a tattered lab coat. And there were voices he was sure no one else could hear.

"N- no... Th- this isn't right... I- I was just outside less than an hour ago..." He spoke to himself, his thin fingers feeling the walls to make sure they were real.

"You were, were you?" The familiar, though not exactly friendly voice responded. Doug stopped everything to listen.

"Wh- where is she?" He demanded. "Wh- where's B- Breanna?"

There was a lengthy beat of silence before GLaDOS responded. "Who's Breanna?"


	4. Chapter 4: Realization

"Who's Breanna?"

He couldn't have heard her correctly. "You know d- damn well who she is! So where is she? Where's my d- daughter?"

GLaDOS gave a small, mechanical laugh. "I get it. I know what's going on here. All those times you were going on about that girl- what was her name? Cassy?- they were all just fantasies made up by your broken little mind, trying to convince yourself that anyone ever thought you were worthwhile. So now I have to ask. How does it feel to realize your whole life has been one giant hallucination? That everything you've ever loved doesn't exist?"

Doug fell to his knees. "N- no. Y- you're lying! Breanna is my d- daughter! W- we were here so we could save her! I- I'm not hallucinating! She's real! Y- you did something to her, is all! And you don't want me to find her! She's not in my head! Breanna is real! She's real...!" He said this, yes, but could he truly believe it? After all, where was the proof? He was in one of his old dens, his beard seemed not to have been shaved in months. Everything was just how he'd left it. He ran a finger over the painting on the wall, fresh black paint coming off onto his hand. "N- no... Breanna..."

He fell to the ground, reality fading in and out of perspective. One moment he was laying on the floor, the next at home with his little girl. When he finally couldn't take it anymore, he let out a scream of pure anguish.

"Calm down." GLaDOS said after the outburst. "I'm kidding." Doug looked up toward the ceiling. "I got bored. Is it so bad for a woman to have a little fun?" He didn't like to think of her as a woman. After all, the woman who had once lived to create her was long gone. "So, I got to watch you squirm one last time, and you helped me test this new hair growth serum. By the way, if when you shave you find a purple rash, you're going to die. Sorry. But I did learn that it reverses the effects of ziaprazidone. So that's a start."

He didn't sigh in relief. He wasn't sure if he could believe her yet. "S- so where is she, then? Is she ok- kay?"

"It depends on your definition of 'Okay'. The transfer finished a few hours ago. Her body is on twenty four hour surveillance by only my best medical researchers. Just as Mr. Johnson requested." Doug nodded, and noticed the object falling from the ceiling just in time to catch it. The small, silver turret-shaped AI was just as he remembered it, two metal plates covering the optic. "She should power up soon." A panel from the wall opened up into a hallway. "Now get out."

He hated seeing her like this. She'd only been back in her own body for three years. _She's only remembered for three years... _Doug pressed the cool metal against his face, having been clean shaven for twenty minutes. He'd sat in this same spot on the floor of her room for an hour beforehand. Why wasn't she waking up?

He manually opened the metal plates that served as eyelids, the optic beneath a lifeless grey. "Come on, _min kärlek_..." He whispered. "Don't leave me..."

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but replay GLaDOS' words in his head over and over.

_How does it feel to realize your whole life has been one giant hallucination? That everything you've ever loved doesn't exist?..._

Now, as he sat here with the deactivated prototype, he involuntarily wondered if maybe it was all in his head. As excruciatingly painful as it would be, what if it was? What if GLaDOS had been right all along? Telling him otherwise to watch him go completely insane?

"Doug?" He heard his name, turning his head to see Leena standing in the doorway. "What are you doing in here? Where's Breanna?"

Breanna. Hearing the name come from his wife's lips should have comforted him. But still, his head was filled with doubt.

_She's in on it, too..._

_It's all one big conspiracy..._

_Everything you've ever loved doesn't exist..._

He pushed away the paranoid ideas. "She's here." He said, not getting into the details. Every moment the optic remained dark, the more worried he got.

Leena looked around the room briefly. "Where? Doug, what's going on?"

"What's that?" Both Doug and Leena were startled when West's voice came seemingly out of nowhere. He tended to do that.

Doug looked the boy directly in the eyes. "This is what your uncle Michael did to my daughter."

There was silence for a moment, everyone staring at the object in Doug's arms. Leena took a few hesitant steps forward, kneeling down beside him, a hand on his shoulder. "Doug, listen to me. Where is Breanna?"

"I told you," He didn't look up. "She's here. She's right here. Sh- she just needs to wake up. You'll see. Any minute now..."

"West," Leena looked up to him. "Go into the medicine cabinet and get the prescription bottle on the top shelf. That and a glass of water. Go." She then turned to the man on the ground. "It's okay, Doug. We're going to get your medication, and-"

"N- no!" Doug flew to his feet, the metal body clutched in his arms. "I- I don't need it! She's here! She's here, I know she is! My Breanna is real! I- I'm not crazy! I-" His nerves getting the better of him, he let his grip loosen just long enough to allow the prototype fall to the floor, a shower of sparks erupting from the circuitry.

Before he could go over, the quiet whir of machinery could be heard, a small computerized groan going with it. "Wh- what's going on...?" It was her voice.

Doug picked her up, facing the bright blue optic toward his face. "B- Breanna? D- do you know who I am?"

The optic studied his face. "N- no... Should I...?" Doug was surprised he didn't break down right then and there. She was gone. Ripped from his arms once more. And in all honesty, it hurt ten times more than the first time. "Wait..." The light flashed a bit brighter. "Doug... Rattmann..." Suddenly, she let out a small gasp of realization. "D- Daddy!"

Yes. Yes, that was it. That was what he'd been waiting for. Leena could do nothing but stare. "What...? You... How...? You mean, what you said about the robot a few years ago, that was true?"

He nodded, and didn't pull away when West came and sat beside him. "It's really you, then...?"

She stared at the boy for a long few moments. She only recalled who he was upon seeing the class ring on his finger, so much like hers, the only discrepancy being the baseball symbol on the side, as opposed to music notes. _West... _"Yeah." She said quietly. "Yeah, it's me."


	5. Chapter 5: Danger Zone

_This sucks. _Breanna was alone in her room, trying to get used to the new perspective. Shouldn't she have been happy? After all, one way or another, she was going to live. But if that meant having to stay in this form for the rest of eternity, she would much rather die.

Her chances were low. She knew that. Perhaps she shouldn't have said anything, let the illness take her, as it was meant to do thirty five years ago. Wouldn't it be better that way? There were times now when she constantly forgot prominent details regarding her life. Just like the first day, when she could not for the life of her think of the name of the man in front of her. For a moment, she didn't remember her father.

It was just like the last time.

She sighed and looked around, spotting the old desktop computer on the other side of the room. I wonder... She messed around with some of her internal technology, and sure enough, the computer began to power up. She tried to smile in triumph, but quickly remembered she couldn't. Once she got the internet up, she went straight to Twitter and logged in. After a quick backreading of her time line, she decided to post.

B_Rattmann: This can't be over soon enough...

Exactly thirty two seconds later, a new message showed up. It was not directly in response to anyone, but the meaning was clear enough.

AndersonCommaW: It will be over soon. Just hang in there. You're strong willed and the bravest person I know. That's why I love you. We'll get through this.

_He... He used full words._ She wasn't going to respond. What would she say if she did? That she loved him, too, but could never be with him? Or that the odds were not in her favour, and she would probably never regain that sense of humanity she was just recalling?

Or would she tell him that she was scared? Terrified for herself, for her family. For everything she'd come to know. That she had always just put on a brave face in order to put others' minds at ease. That was what her life had been. Ever since the beginning. Ever since she was five, and asked the very innocent question of "Daddy, why do other kids at school have mommies and I don't?".

This was her fault. In one way or another, it was her fault. Her mother had died in childbirth, leading to only more disaster in her father's life. Would he not have been better off if she'd never been born? If she didn't exist? After all the pain she'd put him though...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her door being thrown open as two men in black suits entered. Did she know them? No. As hard as she tried, she couldn't remember having ever seen the before. "There it is." The taller one stated, looking at her.

The other picked her up. "What are you doing? L- let go of me!" Her calls for help were muffled when she was placed in some sort of box, and she felt herself being carried away.

"Let's get it out of here."

Doug came home from work to find a frightening sight. Leena sat on the couch, her face buried in her hands. Something was very, very wrong. He sat beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "What is it? What's going on?"

"They took her." She sobbed. "There was nothing I could do. They had badges, I couldn't just tell them they couldn't come in." Her head leaned on his chest as the tears fell freely from her eyes.

_No... _He thought. _No, not again... _Those words, they brought back so many painful memories. Three years prior, getting a phone call that would forever affect so many people. As he sat there now, he could hear them as clearly as if they were being whispered in his ear.

_Dr. Rattmann, I'm calling on behalf of the high school. I'm just verifying that you're aware Breanna isn't in school today..._

"Who was it?" His voice was kind, worried, and demanding all at the same time. "Where did they take her? I'll kill them, I swear!" Inside, he couldn't believe the words had come out of his mouth. Was he really going to turn into that? A murderer? Someone like the very one who had made his life a living Hell for thirty two years? If it meant getting his daughter back, maybe he would.

Leena shook her head. "Federal agents. They said we were in possession of government property. I didn't know what they meant, and I couldn't just turn them away. I never thought... I'm sorry..."

Doug held her close, yet stared straight ahead. "It's not your fault." He whispered. "We'll get her back." Before he could continue, he heard the quiet ringing of his cell phone come from his pocket. "H- hello?"

"Hey, Doug, it's Cave. Listen, I have good news. The medical treatment was a success. Breanna's ready to be put back into her body." Cave was smiling from the other end. "But you've got to bring her soon. Otherwise it'll backfire and the body will die."

"B- but Uncle Johnson-"

"No buts. You have to be here in two and a half hours at the very latest."

"Uncle Johnson, we don't know where Breanna is." He relayed the information he'd been told, doing the best he could to keep himself from falling apart. "We have to find her. Both of us. The government knows you, they'll trust you more."

Cave paced the floor of his office as he spoke. "Maybe so, but I'm supposed to be dead, remember? If they saw me, that'd just lead to more questions. I'm sorry, Doug, but you're on your own on this one. Now get going. We have two hours until it's too late."

_This is it... _Doug looked up at the abandoned manufacturing company in front of him from across the street. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to sneak into a government facility? Yes, he was. He would either get his Breanna back, or die trying.

"Is this where she is?" Doug's head shot around to see the teenage boy standing by his side.

He looked at West, his eyes frightened and hurting. "How did you know...?"

"She posted on Twitter." He replied, pulling out his cellphone. "She said she needed help, but she never finished, so she never said where she was."

Sure enough, he pulled up her profile.

B_Rattmann: I'm alive for now. But I don't have long. Daddy, or West, or anyone, if you're reading this, you need to help me. I'm at

Doug's heart nearly stopped. "Go home, West. This is too dangerous."

The boy simply looked at him, a determined expression on his face. It was obvious he wouldn't take no for an answer. He wouldn't abandon the girl he loved.

Doug snuck over to the power box, hacking it so a portion of the electric fence would shut down without signaling any alarms. They managed to climb over, Doug unscathed, West with some deep scratches from the barbed wire. They clung to the side of the building, sweat on their brows, blood rushing in their ears.

"Now what?" West whispered.

Doug placed a hand on the wall. _Wait. Could it really...? _He pulled, and sure enough, the panel opened, revealing the space between the outside and internal walls. "Come on." They scurried inside, shutting the panel behind them.

It wasn't long before they knew they had to go out into the open. West attempted to open the wall, but needed Doug's experience to do so properly. After checking to be sure no one was around, he waved him on, and they entered the halls.

There was a long time that they seemed the only people in the building. "Do you know where we're going?" West asked.

"I have no idea."

"Hey!" They both froze as a new voice called out behind them. They turned to see a man in a dark suit rushing toward them. As if mentally linked, they began running.

_Running. Running just like before. _West kept up surprisingly well with Doug, only a few steps behind. Doug ignored the searing pain in his leg, the feeling of the bullet wound fresh.

The sound of a gunshot rang out, and Doug knew he was hit.

However, he did not feel any pain. By pure luck, the bullet had hit his wrist, dead in the centre of his watch. But though the guards shot, they never moved out of place. _Just like turrets._

They could do this. If he could just apply everything he'd done to survive in Aperture, he could get all of them out. They could get Breanna back.

Five men behind, two in front, three to the right. Their only option was to duck into the room to their left, which, luckily, was empty. "Quick! Get that ladder!" Doug said as he locked the door. West did as he was told, and Doug set it up below a ceiling vent. He opened it and climbed inside, West following. "Bring it up here. We can't have them coming after us." After some painstaking efforts, they managed, and were on their way again.

Every so often, they would look through a vent to see where they were. After what seemed like hours, there was a room that was pitch black, the only light being a faint, flickering blue.

They dropped down, Doug more successfully than West, listening for any movement. "W- who's there?" The female voice, frightened and slightly automated, gave them both a rush of relief.

The approached the light. "It's us. It's us, _min kärlek_. It's okay. You're safe now."

"Hurry! We don't have long!" Cave led father and daughter through the familiar halls. Doug was used to running. Cave, however, was not. "Go..." He said between breaths about five minutes later. "Experimental Ward... Lab 486... You know what to do..." Doug stood watching his uncle for a moment. "I said go, dammit...!"

Bolting through the facility, just like old times. Times he would much rather forget. Doug clutched Breanna to his chest, opening a wall panel and scurrying behind it. It would be faster that way. Breanna's silence was uneasy. "Don't worry." He assured her. "It's going to be okay. I promise, _min kärlek_. Everything is going to be just fine." And like so many times before, his words were to convince himself as much as her.

A security guard was waiting at the doors of the Experimental Ward, and for a moment, Doug was sure all hope was lost. But the moment the guard saw what was in his arms, he scanned his access pass and the doors opened. Doug ran in the moment he was given the signal to.

He checked his watch, remembering it had been shot only upon seeing the shattered face. How much time did they have? Not much, that was for sure. But if only he had an actual figure...

_Too many variables..._

The lab looked exactly the same as when he'd last been in there. The same annex, the same metal table, and the same raven-haired girl lying lifeless in the middle of it. On her wrist was a sort of bracelet, a green light pulsating on it, presumably in correspondence to her heartbeat.

"I'm scared, Daddy." Breanna's voice was quiet, like a small child on her first day at a new school.

Doug spoke as he attached the wires to her, not wasting any time. "Everything is going to be alright. You-"

They both froze as a high pitched beeping filled the room. Doug looked over, the bracelet's light flashing yellow, the pattern slower and slower. And he knew it was too late.

And then, the light turned to a steady red.

Breanna wanted to cry, to let her tears fall on her father's shoulder. But that was the past. She would never be able to do so again. She looked down at herself. This was her. The girl she once knew was gone. There would be no more playing the piano, no more looking into college.

No more dreams of a future with West.

"No..." Doug whispered. "N- no... Not my baby..." He ran his shaking fingers over the girl's face. "Not my little girl..." He then turned to the little AI- to his daughter- and simply looked at her for a long moment. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Breanna. I'm so sorry..."

She could do nothing but watch as he fell to his knees, sobbing. Was this how he'd been the first time? Curled up on the ground, muttering hopeless nonsense, with that look of absolute devastation staining his face? Yes. She remembered now. When she first powered up, in this very room. Her father looking into the annex, falling against his uncle, lacking the will to live, crying "Where's my little girl?".

"It's annoying, really." GLaDOS' voice rang out. "You humans can never take a joke. Even you. I thought after being in that thing for so long you'd have lost some of your undesirable human qualities. But I guess you weren't so lucky." She snickered a bit as the bracelet's light turned green again. "Now hurry up. You only have three minutes before she actually dies."

Though it was only a few feet away, Doug sprinted over to the switch and pulled it, watching the blue optic go dim.

A thirty second transfer period. A minute of nothing. Another silent minute. Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight. _Where is she? _Nineteen. Eighteen. _Why isn't she waking up? _Eleven. Ten. Nine. Eight. _Am I too late?_

Her eyes fluttered open, looking dazed for a moment before looking to him. Then Breanna ripped off the wires and ran- or tried to, rather- over, throwing her arms around him. And they both knew that it would be okay. That day, and every day after.


	6. Epilogue

Breanna was half asleep, but still deep in thought. She'd been terminally ill, put into an AI twice, kidnapped the same amount of times, yet she was still just a girl- No. Not a girl anymore. She was a woman. What was that term she'd learned in Literature about characters going from innocence to experience? Bildungsroman, that was it. Her life had been one big Bildungsroman. She was a woman with hopes, dreams, and common woman's desires. And right now, there was only one hope, one dream, one desire.

As if on cue, she heard faint music outside the house. She went over to the window and opened the blinds to see a boy- No, a man- with a guitar on the ground below. When she opened the window, West's song fit their situation perfectly.

"_Dear my love, haven't you wanted to be with me?_

_And dear my love, haven't you longed to be free?_

_I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you_

_And at sweet night, you are my own_

_Take my hand_

_We're leaving here tonight_

_There's no need to tell anyone_

_They'd only hold us down_

_So by the morning light_

_We'll be halfway to anywhere_

_Where love is more than just your name..."_

Breanna, entranced, picked up right away.

"_I have dreamt of a place for you and I_

_No one knows who we are there_

_All I want is to give my life only to you_

_I've dreamt so long I cannot dream anymore..."_

And West.

"_Let's run away, I'll take you there..._

"_Forget this life_

_Come with me_

_Don't look back you're safe now_

_Unlock your heart_

_Drop your guard_

_No one's left to stop you..."_

Breanna lowered down the fire escape ladder, and as West climbed up, they sang the last chorus together.

"_We're leaving here tonight_

_There's no need to tell anyone_

_They'd only hold us down_

_So by the morning light_

_We'll be halfway to anywhere_

_Where love is more than just your name..."_

"What are you doing here?" Breanna asked.

She never could have seen it coming. He gently placed his hands on her arms, his face only inches from hers. "I'm here... To ask you if you'll spend the rest of your life beside me."

Her eyes met his. "What do you mean?"

West reached into his pocket and pulled out the gold and diamond band. "Breanna Rattmann," He took her hand, slipping the ring onto her finger. "Will you marry me?"

It took a long time for her to process the question. Was he really asking this? Was that look of pure love on his face true? Would she awake the next morning with no ring, no open window? No. This was really happenening.

Her response was a long, passionate kiss, which he gratefully returned. This was her hope, her dream, her desire. This was what she wanted for the rest of her life.

Her life, which would be spent as a human, with this man she loved. And someday, they would have a family of their own.

And eventually, she would die. She would die, just as all humans do. She would not live forever as an AI. She didn't want to. She wanted to grow up, hand in hand with West Anderson.

"You don't know how long I've waited for you to ask."

* * *

**I'm going to be honest. I _really _should have ended it with the first one. The last three just don't seem as good. Feels almost forced, even to me. I just wanted excuses to write about Breanna. .**

**But this was the last one, I swear! Maybe they'll get brought up in future stories...?**

**Anyway, thank you so much for reading this series, and I hope you loved Breanna as much as I do~**

**The song is _Anywhere_ by Evanescence.**


End file.
